How to see the Latrabjarg Puffins at the Bird Cliffs – Westfjords Iceland

Known as the largest seabird cliffs in Iceland — and the westernmost point of Europe (outside the Azores), Latrabjarg is well-known as a great spot to photograph puffins in Iceland in the summer months. I visited Latrabjarg in July on my Iceland road trip and I’ll give you all the details on how to photograph and see the Latrabjarg puffins at the bird cliffs in Iceland’s Westfjords. Let’s go!

Table of Contents

• Where are the Latrabjarg Puffins and Látrabjarg bird cliffs?
• When to see the puffins at Látrabjarg?
• Visiting Latrabjarg – my experience and what you need to know
• What camera equipment do I need to photograph the Latrabjarg Puffins?
• Tips for visiting Latrabjarg
• Latrabjrag vs. other puffin sites in Iceland
• More About Iceland

Where are the Latrabjarg Puffins and Látrabjarg bird cliffs?

The Látrabjarg bird cliffs are in the Westfjords of Iceland, far, far from the main “Ring Road.” Most visitors to Iceland skip the Westfjords because it’s very remote and they simply don’t have enough time. Fair enough — it’s a jaunt to get here! But if you have at least 2 weeks in Iceland, you might be able to fit part of the Westfjords in your itinerary.

Latrabjarg is a 14-kilometer (8.5-mile) stretch of cliffs that form the westernmost point in Iceland and reaches a height of up to 440 meters (1,450 feet).

We took the Ferry Baldur from the Snaefellsness Peninsula to get to the Westfjords. If you do this, it’s about an hour and a half drive from the ferry dock in the Westfjords:

When to see the puffins at Látrabjarg?

Puffins are here from about mid-May until mid-August. You can see them in the morning and in the early evening hours. During the day, the puffins are fishing out at sea.

Visiting Latrabjarg – my experience and what you need to know

As mentioned above, we took the Ferry Baldur from the Stykkisholmur (Snaefellsness Peninsula) to the Westfjords. Originally, after debarking the ferry, my plan was to visit the Dynjandi waterfall and then head to Latrabjarg to see the puffins. This timing would put us at Latrabjarg in the late afternoon/early evening hours to time the visit to see the puffins. Unfortunately, at this point of our trip, I came down with a nasty cold. I slept during most of our ferry journey, and simply wasn’t up for visiting both the waterfall and the puffins. I chose the puffins, even though I knew the timing might be off.

We arrived at Latrabjarg at about 1pm. It seemed like a very long drive from the ferry dock but ultimately, it was only about an hour and a half, maybe a little more with the few stops we made along the way. The road dead ends at the parking lot. Parking here is free.

Once parked, you’ll want to gather up everything you need — put on your jacket, gloves, hat (yes, even in the summer — it’s windy up on the cliffs). The trail is well-marked with a sign at the car park.

You’ll ascend up the trail to the top of the cliffs. Once at the top, keep your eyes peeled for birds. The trail is basically a small dirt path and goes on as long as you want to. Once we got to the top of the cliffs, we did see a ton of birds down on the cliffs, but they weren’t puffins – it was mostly razorbills — which are cool, but they’re not puffins. We had to walk about 3/4 of a mile to see any puffins. We just followed the crowds.

Once we were at the area where the puffins were hanging out, we didn’t see very many. Our timing was totally off because I wasn’t feeling well and changed up our itinerary, which affected our Latrabjarg timing. We arrived at about 1pm, and at mid-day, most of the puffins are out fishing at sea.

But we did see some. To get the photos, you have to lean over the edge of the cliff to see them. Edges of the cliffs here are very unstable, so to keep yourself safe, you’ll need to sit down and lay on your stomach to photograph the puffins. It’s awkward. Wildlife photography itself is very difficult and laying on your stomach to operate a camera doesn’t make it any easier. There weren’t that many puffins here and while the crowds weren’t too bad, there were so few puffins that everyone was jostling around to see the one or two puffins that were there. Hence, to be honest, I did not like any of my puffin photos I took at Latrabjarg. They just couldn’t compare to the photos I took later on during our trip at Borgarfjörður-Eystri.

What camera equipment do I need to photograph the Latrabjarg Puffins?

I used my Sony A7IV mirrorless camera with a 200-600mm lens, with a 1.4x teleconverter. This is a pricey set up — the same setup I used on my East Africa safari — and I still didn’t get the photos I wanted (though I did later on in the trip to see puffins at Borgarfjörður-Eystri). The puffins that happened to be there during my visit were hanging out in the burrows of the cliffs, so you have to lay down flat on your stomach to get closer to the edge of the cliff, and then photograph them. This is an awkward position and adds to the challenge of getting a good shot.

DO NOT STAND NEAR THE EDGE OF THE CLIFFS. The ground is extremely unstable!! You must lay down on your stomach!

Tips for visiting Latrabjarg

1. Bring Binoculars: While puffins can often be seen up close from the cliff’s edge, bringing a pair of binoculars allows you to observe them in even greater detail because they won’t get as close as you may think.
2. Bring a zoom lens: While your phone will take great photos, a zoom lens — with as much zoom as possible — is always better. I used a 200-600mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter to take my puffin photos.
3. Dress in Layers: Iceland’s weather can be unpredictable, even in the summer months. Be sure to dress in layers and bring a waterproof jacket to stay comfortable in case of rain or wind. On my visit, it was windy and a little drizzly. I wore a headband over my ears, a rain jacket with the hood up and gloves with a flip-top so I could access my camera controls.
4. Respect Wildlife: While it’s tempting to get as close as possible to the puffins for the perfect photo, it’s important to remember to keep a respectful distance and avoid disturbing the birds or their nesting sites.
5. Stay Safe: The cliffs at Latrabjarg can be steep and unstable in places, so exercise caution when exploring the area. There are very few barriers here so always be mindful of your footing, especially if you’re traveling with children.
6. Get your timing right: You don’t want to drive out here to arrival in the middle of the day like we did. You won’t see very many puffins. Come in the early evening or early morning.

Latrabjrag vs. other puffin sites in Iceland

If you can’t make it out to the Westfjords or if you’re deciding on whether or not going alllll the way out here is worth it, I’ll compare this to other popular puffin spots in Iceland to help you make your decision:

Latrabjarg Pros and Cons

Pros:
Very remote feeling (could be a con too!)
Cliff scenery is lovely
Many other birds to view
It’s in the Westfjords – the Westfjords are beautiful!
If you time it correctly, you will see a lot of puffins

Cons:
Come at the wrong time of day and there are very, very few puffins
Long drive to get out here, parts of it on a gravel road with some potholes. Parts of the road are steep with no barrier.
Cliffs truly feel unstable and dangerous. There are no barriers.
Difficult to photograph the puffins – in many spots, due to unstable ground, you must lay on your stomach as not to fall off the cliff
Very windy

Now, compare this to the other popular sites –

Dyrholaey
Probably the most popular puffin viewing spot in Iceland! While you can take photos of puffins here, I found it to be very difficult. There are a lot of people you’ll be jostling with other visitors to get good views, and I found that the puffins were much further away making it difficult to get good photos. There also weren’t that many puffins here. I didn’t attempt to take any puffin photos here, simply because we had visited Borgarfjörður-Eystri a few days prior and I took thousands of puffin photos there and was extremely happy with them. I would NOT have been able to get the kind of photos at Dyrholaey that I got at Borgarfjörður-Eystri.

Westman Islands:
I personally didn’t have time to visit the Westman Islands, so I can’t speak to how the puffin viewing scene is here. You will need to take a ferry (reservation highly recommended, especially if you are taking your car) and can stay overnight on the island if you wish.

Borgarfjörður-Eystri
By far, this is the best place for puffin viewing in Iceland. It has the proper infrastructure for puffin viewing with tons of boardwalks and fencing, plus a little hut for shelter when visiting in the rain. I absolutely loved my visit here and got some amazing photos! There had to be thousands of puffins here when I visited (around 6pm in early July).

Bottom line: While it’s cool to go all the way out to Latrabjarg, it isn’t the only spot to see puffins in Iceland. I hate to say this (because it WAS cool to come out here) I wouldn’t recommend it unless you also want to see other bird species. Your best bet — and the safest — is Borgarfjörður-Eystri, located on the eastern fjords of Iceland. It’s much much more accessible, easier-to-reach area for tourists to view puffins without worry of falling off the face of the Earth. Plus – paved roads out there the entire way!

Because I was absolutely obsessed with seeing puffin on our Iceland trip, I put two puffin spots on my itinerary (Latrabjarg and Borgarfjörður-Eystri) just in case one didn’t work out.

Have you driven out to Latrabjarg to see puffins or other birds? What did you think? Or, any questions? I’m happy to answer in the comments!